1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a horizontal-type air-conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, in which an evaporator is disposed approximately horizontally, a heater core is disposed at an upper side of the evaporator approximately horizontally, and a blower is disposed at a side of the evaporator so that air blown from the blower is introduced into the evaporator from below.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a horizontal-type air-conditioning apparatus for a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,107. As shown in FIG. 6, the conventional air-conditioning apparatus 201 includes a blower unit 204 having an inside/outside air switching box 202 and a blower 203, a cooler unit having an evaporator (i.e., cooling heat exchanger) 205, and a heater unit having a heater core (i.e., heating heat exchanger) 206 and a mode switching portion 207. In the conventional air-conditioning apparatus, the evaporator 205 is approximately horizontally disposed at a side of the blower 203, and the heater core 206 is disposed approximately horizontally at an upper side of the evaporator 205. The evaporator 205 and the heater core 206 are accommodated in an air conditioning case 211, and the mode switching portion 207 is provided in the air conditioning case 211 at an upper side of the heater core 206.
Further, the blower 203 is accommodated in a blower case 201 connected to the air conditioning case 206. The air conditioning apparatus 201 is installed in a passenger compartment around an instrument panel in such a manner that a left-right direction in FIG. 6 corresponds to a left-right direction of the vehicle. Thus, air blown by the blower 203 passes through the evaporator 205 and the heater core 206, and is introduced into the passenger compartment from the mode switching portion 207.
However, in the conventional air conditioning apparatus 201, the heater unit 206 and the mode switching portion 207 are disposed above the evaporator 205. Therefore, when it is necessary to detach the evaporator 205 from the air conditioning case 211, the air conditioning case 211 is divided, after the blower case 210 and the air conditioning case 211 are respectively detached from the vehicle. That is, after the detachment of the blower case 210 and the air conditioning case 211 from the vehicle, the evaporator 205 can be taken out from the air conditioning case 211. Thus, a long time is necessary to change or clean the evaporator 205 in the conventional air-conditioning apparatus 201.